Budgetary Allocation

10 ministries, divisions to focus on women's empowerment

11 June 2010, 18:00 PM

Alpha Arzu

Apart from the women ministry, ten ministries and divisions will focus on gender budgeting in the coming fiscal year to end gender disparities. Agriculture, education, environment, fisheries and animal resources, health, land, social welfare, water resources ministries and disaster management and relief division and rural development and cooperatives division will utilise a large portion of their allocation for women's benefit. The agriculture ministry will spend more than 26 percent of its total budgetary allocation while disaster management and relief division 78 percent for the welfare of the women. In 2010-11 fiscal year, 23.29 percent of total expenditure of education ministry, 44.22 of environment, 32.61 of fisheries, 32.33 of health, 18.40 of land, more than 62 percent of rural development, about 20 percent of social welfare and 39 percent of water resources will be utilised for the women's empowerment and improvement of their livelihood. Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Thursday at his budget speech proposed to allocate Tk 1,241 crore, development and revenue combined, for the FY2010-11 including Tk 125 crore as block allocation against various programmes for women empowerment and children welfare. About 25.9 percent --4.4 percent of GDP -- of the total proposed expenditure in FY2010-11 will be allocated for ensuring gender parity. The government will extend computer-training programmes to 34 districts to create employment opportunity for women. As a result, women will get more opportunity for employment in technology-driven jobs. The government is also decided to establish 10 new daycare centres for working mothers. Out of these, seven are for lower income and three for middle income working mothers. Rasheda K Choudhury, former adviser to caretaker government, at her immediate reaction on Thursday said, “The initiative of gender budgeting involving large number of ministries is really appreciating approach of the government.” But the government should have better focus on establishing more daycare centres for working mothers and accommodation or hostel facilities for the females in all metropolitan cities, she said. Khushi Kabir, a women rights activist, told The Daily Star, “The main component of the budget should not be gender blind. But as women in our country still lagging behind, we need some focus for women.” Congratulating the government for the gender budgeting, she recommended specific measures in the budget to address the issues regarding Adibashi women and khas land distribution among the poor women.